Family Matters
by Itsthegilmoregirls
Summary: Logan proposed, Rory said no, and he left. No one has been able to reach him since. But what if someone had to? Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, its been done hundreds of times before but this is my take on the cliche storyline. I already have all of the chapters laid out and most of them written, so no worries about me not finishing this one. It will be a shorter fic as well, probably about 15 chapters. **

**For those of you who have been asking, A Leap will be updated soon. All I can say is I have written myself into a corner in which I cannot seem to write my way out of. However I assure you it will be completed sometime soon. :) My other stories have not and will not be added to. I have removed them as to eliminate questions and disappointed readers. I apologize, but unless you want really unoriginal work, then that is that. I have the chapters saved and perhaps they will be continued in the distant future. Who knows.**

**I really love all of your lovely reviews and reading them brightens my day :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

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No no no this could not be happening. Shit. Two months. Eight whole weeks had gone by since she had last seen Logan Huntzberger. Sure she had tried to call him since he left her standing alone on that fateful day. There were no drunken late night phone calls or hysterical text messages, just feeble attempts to reach the man who had played such a huge role in her life for the last three years. A month after their break up his cell phone was disconnected. It was safe to say he didn't want to speak to her. She didn't really blame him. After Logan's curt, professional voicemail was replaced with the automated "this phone number is no longer in service" deal, she decided to give up.

But a month later things changed and contacting Logan became even more of a priority. Every time her mind ran through her current…predicament…and truth be told it was all the time, she cringed at the cliché her life had become. East Coast girl goes from small town life to graduating from an Ivy League school, only to be dumped by her college boyfriend on her graduation day. Well technically she said no to his marriage proposal first, but the ultimate end of their relationship was his idea. It was all a matter of technicalities. And now here she was, two months later, holding five pieces of plastic that would change her life forever. Some used little pink lines whereas some had tiny plus signs, but each said the same thing—everything was about to change. Yeah, the whole thing was straight out of an afterschool special. Maybe ABC Family would pick it up and throw their own twisted soap opera spin on it. It didn't really matter which way she chose to look at it, her wide-open future was no more. She had someone else to consider now. No matter how terrified she was, this baby was conceived out of love and it would be raised surrounded by just that.

Telling her mother was the hard part. Rory was terrified that Lorelai would be upset that her daughter was following in her footsteps, basically repeating her mistakes. Although a lot of tears were shed, Lorelai responded remarkably well to the news and promised to be there every step of the way for her only child and soon to be first grandchild. She even tried to get Rory to move back home to Stars Hollow, but Rory was determined to do this on her own. She got a job at a small paper in Hartford and rented a small studio apartment with two small bedrooms and a kitchen the size of a closet. Rory didn't really need a lot of space though, and she still couldn't cook so the lack of counter space didn't bother her either. As long as she had enough room for Joe, her trust coffee maker who was now stuck with brewing solely decaf, and enough room in her fridge for take-out leftovers, it would all be okay. After all, Lorelai raised her in a shed and they turned out all right.

Shortly after Rory moved to Hartford, she had her first doctors appointment. Now laden with prenatal vitamins and her very first ultrasound photograph, contacting the father became even more imperative. After her feeble attempts last month, she knew his cell phone was no longer in service so she turned to email. She couldn't exactly tell him that he was going to be a father via Gmail, so she promised herself that unless he agreed to meet with her in person-even if it took her flying out to Palo Alto-she wouldn't tell him. If he was so dead set against not speaking with her, he didn't deserve to be a part of raising their child for the time being. His level of maturity obviously wasn't ready for that. She knew her plan was slightly childish, but she wasn't budging. She wouldn't let her child grow up with an absentee father who didn't take the time of day to even speak with her. She knew all too well what that was like. The next day she made a new email address and sent him the first message. It was short and to the point, just letting him know that she urgently needed to speak with him and that her contact information had changed. She left him the address of her place in Hartford, her cell phone number, her email, and her landline. If she didn't hear back from him within three days, she would try again. If that still didn't work she would take other measures. As much as she was hurting, her child deserved to know their father and Logan deserved the chance to know that he was one.

September rolled around and she still hadn't heard a peep from Logan. She had emailed him at least once a week, but when that didn't work she turned to Colin and Finn. Of all the people on the planet, they probably knew him the best…after her that was. That's why it was such a shock to find out that they truly had no clue about his whereabouts, other than the obvious fact that he was indeed in Palo Alto. Neither of them had heard from him since June. It seemed Logan had cut everyone from his college days out of his life. His abrupt proposal and their even hastier split had not even given her time to find out which of the many Silicon Valley Internet companies he was employed at. So, in a last ditch effort to get his attention, she tried Honor.

The oldest Huntzberger child took some convincing, but after hearing what it was Rory needed to say, eventually relented and gave Logan's new cell phone number to Rory. In exchange, Rory promised Honor that she would tell Logan the news some way, even if he wouldn't meet with her.

Rory was shaking a little as she dialed the unfamiliar number. This was it. She was using a nearby payphone on the off chance that he would see her name on caller ID and not pick up the call. She was being slightly paranoid, but she had to try. The phone rang three times as she anxiously tapped her finger against the glass of the little booth she was standing in.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar female voice answered, sounding slightly breathless.

"Oh I'm sorry I must have the wrong number." Rory frowned, why would a female be answering his home phone?

"Uhm who are you looking for?"

"Logan Huntzberger."

"Oh. Logan's…occupied at the moment. Who is this?"

"Oh. This is Rory…Rory Gilmore. Maybe I could leave a message?"

"Ah so _you're_ Rory. Listen Logan got your message. All of them. He doesn't want to talk to you."

"Excuse me? And just who are you to tell me that?" Whoever this chick was she was annoying as hell.

"I'm his girlfriend." Ouch. Rory wasn't expecting that one.

"Oh. Okay…uhm well…er…listen, can you just tell him I called and that I really need to talk to him?"

"No, you listen. Logan doesn't want to talk to you. I think he's made that pretty clear. It would be best if you just leave him alone. In the two months we've been together…" Rory could almost visualize the syrupy sweet female voice on the other end of the phone sneering at her.

"Wait two months?"

"Yeah," the mystery woman…well Logan's girlfriend sounded triumphant at that piece of information. "Rory was it? Logan doesn't want to hear your news so I suggest you just leave it alone."

"Baby are you on the phone?" Well that stung. Apparently Logan had finished with whatever he was occupied with and his voice could be heard in the background. Rory tensed up. This girl wasn't lying. She was his "baby."

"Yeah give me a sec hon and I'll be right back to finish what we started."

"All right. I'll just wait for you back in the other room." This "baby" chick giggled loudly.

Rory didn't need to hear anymore so she hung up. She was shocked. He hadn't event taken a full month to get over her. God if they had been together for two months it would have had to mean they got together after three weeks or less. He had picked up his life and moved on like it was nothing. And a two month relationship? Already? Apparently he was getting better at the "serious relationship thing." Her mind was spinning. He knew. He didn't want to talk to her. He knew she had something important to tell her and he didn't want to hear it. That was it. Rory was done. She couldn't do anything else to get him to talk to her. He was happy with this mystery girl and she was forgotten. Slowly she walked away from the phone booth. If he could move on so could she.

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**Cliche, I know. But I really wanted to write a fic like this so here we go! 3 **

**Reviews=me posting the next chapter faster! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! thank you guys for the awesome response to this story! I'm so glad you're liking it so far and I promise it will get happier. I'm sorry it made you sad! **

**I'm going to warn you right now the first few chapters will have a few longer paragraphs as I'm explaining what happened. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls**

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Six Years Later…

"Matthew Richard Gilmore you will put that down and come here right now!"

"No!" The rambunctious five-year-old had managed to get his hands on a bottle of Tylenol and was racing around their tiny New York apartment, refusing to give it back.

"Don't make me count to five!"

"I can count to five all by myself! ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE!"

"Matty I'm serious! If you're not by the door ready to go to school in five seconds you're not allowed to have a birthday party this year."

Within two seconds the bottle of pills could be heard clanking to the floor, the pattering of little feet following shortly.

"Mommy I'm here."

Rory sighed, running her free hand through her hair before taking a sip of the travel mug that was in her other one. "All right. Let's go before you're late."

"So can I have a birthday party?"

"Matty you need to learn to start behaving yourself."

"But Mooommmmyyy. I'm going to be six in ten days! Ten! I want a birthday party because Billy had one that was pirate themed and it was so cool! He had a real live pirate and everything!"

"We'll talk about it later Matty. You need to start behaving better so if you're good for the next ten days, you can have a birthday party okay?"

"Yes yes yes!"

"C'mon buddy let's go before we're really late okay?"

"Yes Mommy. I love you."

"Starting immediately are we?" The little boy did not give a verbal response, he simply looked up at his mother with those piercing blue eyes he inherited from her and the cocky smirk he clearly got from his father. Rory grinned down at him, sighing slightly as she ruffled his blonde hair. There were some days Matty was just too much like his father.

"Uh-huh! Mommy I want an outer space party. With cake and ice cream and Grandma and Grandpa Luke and Auntie Lane and Auntie Honor and Uncle Josh and Uncle Colin and Uncle Finn and allllll of my friends from kindergarten."

"That sounds like quite the event there mister!" She was glad that Matty was as close to their extended family as she was. Sure, it was a little unorthodox, but it was the network of support and love that she had always wanted for him, even if that network didn't include his father.

Although she had initially vowed to cut off all attempts to reach Logan, her conscience got the better of her. If he was going to be a father he deserved to know. She had tried to contact Logan for an entire year after their split. At first she left phone messages, but when it was clear he was screening her calls, she returned to her weekly emails. Eventually she sent one final tell all letter to Logan, snail mail style, telling him everything. It was a little more personal than an email and she really couldn't bring herself to fly all the way out there to grovel on his doorstep. She even included a photograph of their son in that last envelope. In case of potential mail issues she sent him an email to let him know to expect a final letter, a final goodbye. He never replied.

Eventually even Honor conceded that her brother was being an immature ass about the whole ordeal and if he couldn't handle simply answering an email or a phone message or even that final letter, he certainly was not ready to be a parent. It was strange how it happened, but it turned out Rory was ready. Well, as ready as a single, adolescent mother could be.

Colin and Finn stepped up to the plate as well, filling part of the void in their lives after Logan left them behind as well. Matty absolutely adored them and the feeling was mutual. Once Matty hit the terrible twos, having those two at her beck and call was a lifesaver. After all, they had as much energy as he did at times. Colin and Steph finally got together and they got married when Matt turned three. There were no kids of their own on the way anytime soon, so they took to spoiling their little godson instead. Finn was, well, Finn. The steady stream of redheads in his life continued long after his college days, although the perpetual drunkenness lessened considerably. Both of them were wrapped around Matty's little finger.

As the pair walked quickly down the sidewalk, holding hands the entire way, Rory thought about how different her life was. It was strange to be raising a child in a place as busy as Manhattan, especially considering her childhood was spend in Stars Hollow, but she was living her dream.

"All right Matty I'll be back to pick you up at two. No throwing crayons again mister. I want you on your best behavior which means I should not be getting any more phone calls from your teacher."

"Okay mommy." She kissed the top of his head and he squirmed just a little bit. "I love you!"

"Love you too kiddo. Have a good day!"

The little boy gave her a final little wave before bounding up the steps and heading in to the brick school building. Rory watched her son's figure disappear before turning around and heading for the black town car that had just slid up to the curb.

"Hey Ted!" She called out as the uniformed man held open the door for her.

"Hello Miss Gilmore." She rolled her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't get him to call her Rory.

"Hey Rory!"

"Hey Colin!"

"Matty all situated?"

"Yep the little troublemaker is all good to go. His poor teachers."

Colin chuckled, "that's what we pay them for."

"You know you really don't have to pick me up everyday. There's a subway station literally right around the corner…"

"Gilmore we can have this argument every day if you want but my answer is never going to change! I pass right by Matt's school and what kind of uncle would I be if I let you take unnecessary public transportation? Besides we work right next to each other. We're really saving the environment you know. Carpooling and all."

"Yeah, yeah." Rory grumbled a little bit, but she didn't protest farther. It was pointless and she knew it. "Listen are you sure you want to take Matt tomorrow? I mean I can hire a babysitter or something…or reschedule the interview?"

"Gilmore are you _trying_ to cut me out of your life _or something_? And you can't reschedule the interview! It's the mayor of freaking New York City. That can't be rescheduled because you're tired of your good old friend Colin."

"No! I just feel so bad! You and Steph do so much for us!"

"That's how family works! Besides it's good practice." Colin winked.

"Ohmygosh is Steph…?"

"NO! But someday. It's…in the works."

"Oh okay I was about to be really upset that she didn't tell me when we talked yesterday. And then super excited."

"Nah not yet."

"Aw I'm happy for you guys though!"

"So enough about me, how's work going?"

"It's pretty great actually! I've got that interview with the mayor tomorrow and there's a chance I might be given the opportunity to interview the President soon!"

"Look at you! But what's with the politics?"

"Well I mean the Obama piece that was proposed was more about the US policy in regards to the Kim Jung Un crisis and what his plans are for aid in South Korea…"

"That's some heavy stuff there."

"It's basically the foreign policy journalism I wanted to cover as a foreign correspondent. But I mean this way I'm closer to home and I'm in no danger. It's kind of perfect actually."

"Seems like we all have something to celebrate."

The car came to a smooth stop next to a row of office buildings and Ted exited the car in order to open the door.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow Colin!"

"Bye Ror." He gave her a small smile as he too exited the vehicle, heading for another set of buildings across the street.

As she headed to work each morning she couldn't help but think of how fortunate she was. She was the mother of a beautiful, although extremely energetic, five-year-old, she lived in one of the most exciting places in the world, and she was living her dream. Smiling to herself and taking another long sip of her morning coffee (well, the second one that is), she pushed open the heavy glass doors and headed to work.

Rory made her way to her desk, only pausing to head to the break room to refill her travel mug. She had a lot of work to do and she sure as hell wasn't going to do it without the right amount of caffeine in her system. Logging into her computer, she began to write.

Her day passed easily and rather uneventfully, the way she liked it. Sure she enjoyed a little excitement once in awhile, but her son was more than enough of that. As soon as the clock struck 1:45, Rory quickly gathered her things together and headed for the subway.

By 2:00 she was back at the elementary school, listening to an overexcited Matty talk about his day.

"And then we got to use finger paint to make the dinosaurs and I drawed..."

"Drew." She automatically corrected. Hey, she _was_ an English major after all.

"Drew a tee...tyyransour."

"Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

"Yeah that! Mommy it was so cool! Miss Elaine put it on the wall and _everything__!"_

"That sounds like so much fun kiddo! Will you draw me a T-Rex sometime?"

"I already did Mommy! This one is for you! Miss Elaine just said it had to dry first."

"Aww thanks baby. When its all nice and dry and you take it home we'll put it up on the wall okay?"

"Really?"

"Yep!"

"Cool." He smiled.

"So Matty you ready to hang out with your Uncle Colin and Auntie Steph tomorrow?"

"YEAH! Uncle Colin said that he just got a new video game and he's gonna let me play it with him!"

"Oh did he now?"

"Uh-huh. And Auntie Steph makes really good cookies..."

Rory laughed, "that she does. So just remember Uncle Colin is going to pick you up from school tomorrow okay? Not me. I'll meet you guys for dinner though so no spoiling your appetite on cookies okay?"

"Okayyyy mommy."

"Why don't I believe you Matthew?"

"I don't know." He flashed her that classic puppy dog look that never failed to make her smile. And depending on the reason for its use, groan.

"You're on a three cookie limit Mr."

"But that's not fairrr!"

"Matty..."

"Finnne." They had made it back to the apartment at that point and Rory struggled with the key in the lock. Not too much though, obviously nothing could compare to the insane process of unlocking the door on her and Paris's old college place.

"That's my boy. Now I know Grandma wanted to talk to you so when we get inside we can call her all right?"

"Okay! Mommy can we have mac and cheese for dinner tonight?"

"Sure kiddo."

"Thanks!" With that he raced off to his room where she knew he wanted to use his firetruck phone. Somehow he had convinced her to get him a phone in his room that was shaped like a firetruck this last Christmas and he was anxious to use it any chance he got.

Rory stood in the entryway, placing her keys in the bowl by the door and hanging up her coat in the closet. She smiled at the picture frame hanging in their front entryway. It was an old newspaper, well one from about two years back, and it was flipped to the features section. Proudly printed in black and white were the words, "By: Lorelai Gilmore, New York Times Staff Writer." Sure the article itself wasn't that impressive, but it was only the first one in two years worth of articles.

Yeah, she was doing all right.

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**A little bit happier? :) Oh and I also wanted to point out that Colin is less uptight in this because he, Rory, and Finn have all bonded since the college days and he's Matty's godfather. Also, I feel like Colin would be the kind of person to get all soft when he was exposed to children so why not? I've always liked the guy.**

**Oh and don't worry, we'll see Logan soon. **

**Reviews make me happy and keep me writing ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

Logan paused for a moment at his computer, rethinking the draft he was writing. It was a proposal for a business partnership that could take this tiny Internet company and slowly but surely skyrocket it into national acclaim. He loved working on the ground floor of this basically three-guy operation. He felt like the Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne during the early days of Apple electronics, slowly but surely building something out of nothing. Something big. The work was hard and the hours were long, but hey you have to give some to get some. Or something like that? If Rory was here she would…

It happened a lot. He would be talking to a co-worker or just thinking to himself and for a brief, shining moment he would forget that they were broken up. He would forget that horrible graduation party and that god-awful ultimatum that he so stupidly offered. For one glorious second he would turn to her side of the bed, expecting to see an array of gorgeous brown curls all splayed out on her pillow. But she wasn't there. And she would never be there again because that horrible graduation party and that god-awful ultimatum _had_ happened. And now there was nothing he could do about it.

He regretted everything about their last few days together. It took him some time, but after he had practically consumed all the liquor in Connecticut, seriously considered pulling a Finn and running away to join the French Foreign Legion (yes, he was severely intoxicated at the time), and successfully ignored every last person who connected him to her, he realized just how wrong he was. Rory was a private person. His big public proposal, in front of the DAR no less, was just the opposite of that. Rory liked to think things all the way through before making a decision, any kind of decision. He thrust moving to California on her unexpectedly, on top of the whole marriage thing. Rory asked him to stay. He left.

He knew how badly he screwed up. He didn't need to be told twice. But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to go back to her. By the time he came to his shocking revelation about how much of an immature asshole he was, Logan was already in California. In fact, he was already a good two months into living in California. He got all her emails and her phone messages and at first, he wanted nothing more than to just hit that little "return call" button. But he wasn't in the right mind to talk to her yet and he couldn't bring himself to risk saying something that would mess their situation up even more. It was cowardly and childish, but that was his though process. So he disconnected the phone after a month. He kept all the messages though.

When he finally came to his senses, it appeared she had stopped trying to contact him. As much as he hated it, he thought it would be best if they just moved on. That was what was supposed to happen after a rejected marriage proposal and a breakup right? So he changed the password to his email as well and got caller ID on his landline in order to prevent him from attempting to contact her. He gave his home phone number to Honor in case anyone back home absolutely needed to reach him, and that was that. He needed to grow up and move on.

He never actually ended up buying that house with the avocado tree. When it came down to it, he really didn't need that much space. Instead, Logan moved to a smaller, but still luxurious, two-bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen, no closet space, and a great office. After three years of essentially living off take-out and coffee, he really didn't need anything in the kitchen except a good old coffee maker and a couple of menus. Even though Rory was physically on the other side of the country, a part of her still followed him here. He had a feeling she would be following him for a long, long time.

About two months into the job Logan was finally getting the hang of things. Well, he had the work part of his life together from the start, it was just the personal stuff that was messed up. It took awhile, but he was slowly returning to the normal Logan. The good thing about living on the West Coast was that he didn't have to constantly pass landmarks that reminded him of a certain brunette. To avoid the loneliness he worked longer and more diligently. As a part new in the new business, he definitely had a lot invested in this. It was his chance to prove himself as a good businessman, independent of his father's influence. Using it as an excuse, he spent the majority of his time at the office, not even taking weekends off. It was a pitiful way to live, but at least he was still living.

One of his partners, and they were both significantly older than him, had a daughter in high school who was applying to Yale. Logan volunteered to help her with the application. She was a pretty girl, young and fresh faced. But the main part was, well, young. According to her resume the girl had definitely proven capable of handling an Ivy League education, 2400 on the SAT, good grades, hard classes, great extra-circulars, stellar recommendations. Logan didn't really know where he needed to help her—this girl was a shoe in.

He liked her company though; the presence of an excited young mind was refreshing. She was a friend, nothing more, nothing less. Needless to say there was no romantic interest there. She had a good head on her shoulders and he was more than happy to assist in her accomplishing her dreams.

She and her father Mike were over at his apartment one day to talk business and catch up. They were working on a business model together in the office, but to be honest they really weren't getting much work done. Mike and Logan had cracked open the new case of beer Logan had purchased the day before and she was anything but focused on the task at hand. They were laughing at a particularly funny joke when the phone rang.

"Shoot. I'd better go get that. Excuse me…" Logan went to stand up and answer the ringing living room telephone, but Baby sprung up to answer. Yes, Baby like in Dirty Dancing. Rory would have gotten a kick out of that one, that's for sure.

"Oh don't be silly! I was planning on getting a glass of water myself so I'll get up and answer it. You and Dad are oh so hard at work and I wouldn't want to disturb that. That is, if you don't mind me answering your phone?"

He waved her off, "go ahead. Thanks!"

"No problem." She slipped out of the room quickly.

He heard her answer the phone and carry on a conversation for a little while, but the door was closed so all he could hear was her muffled voice.

"Baby are you on the phone?" If it was someone who needed to reach him apparently it wasn't that urgent.

"Yeah give me a sec Huntz and I'll be right back to finish what we started."

"All right. I'll just wait for you back in the other room." Apparently whoever it was wasn't looking for him. Maybe she told someone that she wouldn't be home today. Shrugging it off, he went back into the office. They really did have to finish this model by the end of the day.

A few minutes later Baby waltzed back in, carrying a glass of water.

"Who was that?"

She rolled her eyes, "one of those stupid advertising phone calls. I would have just hung up but I mean it's not my house so I decided to have some fun."

"Thanks?"

"Don't worry I blocked the number so they won't be bothering you again."

"Okayyy on that note we really should finish up here if we want to go into the office Monday with our heads held high."

"Sounds good to me!"

The trio got back to work and the phone didn't ring again.

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**PS: You guys are amazing. The response to this story makes me very happy :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Matty. Matt. MATTHEW!" Their apartment wasn't large but sometimes Rory swore her son found just the right corner to hide from her in.

"Yes Mommy?" She sighed as the little blonde boy poked his head around the corner, blue eyes widened oh-so-innocently.

"C'mon kiddo I've been calling you for five minutes. Why do I always feel like I'm yelling your name? Wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

He wrinkled his little nose, "are we having that chicken thing again?"

"It was one time! I forgot to add the butter!" Apparently having a child didn't improve her cooking skills. That theory was proven true after a failed attempt at a chicken marsala dish the previous week and, well, several occasions before that as well.

"So can we get Chinese?"

"I thought I'd promised you a mac and cheese night! Besides, we had Chinese yesterday kiddo."

"Dino mac and cheese?"

"Would you ever let me buy any other kind? But you're having carrots with it." Before he could begin the inevitable whining she added, "no complaining. You're just lucky I'm not making you eat those yucky green things called brussle sprouts that great-grandma Emily makes."

"The ones we hide in our napkins?"

"Yep."

"Is Uncle Colin coming over?"

"Not tonight baby, you're going over to his house tomorrow remember?"

"Oh yeah! Video games!"

Rory rolled her eyes. This kid had the attention span of a gnat, but when it came to video games and junk food his memory was as good as an elephant's. "Yeah. Did you have any homework tonight Matty?"

"Nope! Just reading a book but you've already read it to me so I don't have to read it again."

"Well that's good"

"Uh-huh. Are we going to eat now or can I finish my game?"

"We're eating in two minutes kid, go wash your hands."

"But you haven't even taken the dinos out yet!"

"Matty are you going to argue with me all day today?"

"No…I just really want to finish my game." He sent an angelic smile her way. Gah he was so much like Logan sometimes.

"Two. Minutes. Hands must be washed."

"Thanks Mom!"

"I mean it though Matty. You only have two minutes!" She called after the already retreating figure as he scampered off to his bedroom. Rory sighed and ran a hand through her hair before turning to the cabinet to grab the aforementioned ingredients for dinner. And by ingredients she meant the Kraft Mac and Cheese box always sitting in their kitchen cabinet.

Matty was a bright kid, there was no doubting that. He started talking early on and for a five year old he was pretty eloquent. He loved reading and going to museums so they almost always maxed out the amount of books they could check out from the public library. When he was reading he was quiet and oblivious to the outside world, completely absorbed in his picture books. In those moments she knew that half of that little boy was all her. But on the other hand sometimes he had so much energy he literally bounced off the walls. Or his bed. Sometimes both. That part of him was all Logan.

Rory still wished Logan was here to see his son grow up, but he made his choice just as she made hers. Eventually she came to terms with it. After all, she was no stranger to the trials and tribulations of single parenthood because she had the best role model to look up to. Her mother had done it and so could she.

In the years following Matty's birth, Rory worked tirelessly to make a life for them. Her small job at the Hartford paper blew up when the same company that owned the New York Times purchased it, taking her and a few other writers to the city that never sleeps. Her friends and family supported her every step of the way. Looking back she had no regrets. She had her friends, her family, her dream job, and although things didn't work out between them, Logan had given her Matty and she would forever be thankful for that. It took some time, and a lot of Kleenex and coffee, but she was doing just fine.

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_On the other side of the country..._

Logan stepped into the first-class section of the American Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport. He quickly skimmed the aisle before finding his seat, 2B. It was at times like this when he missed the luxury of the Huntzberger Publishing Group's private plane seeing as he was apparently seated next to a thirty-ish woman who was not-so-subtly letting her eyes scan his body. This was going to be a long flight.

He was on his way to oversee a new newspaper's online expansion. Most of the time big publishings had the audience and the print readers, but they didn't know how to expand into digital media. That's where his company came in. Growing up around newspapers, Logan knew enough to bridge the gap between internet and print. His business was skyrocketing and their projects kept getting larger and larger. He was on his way to oversee their newest aquisition, a paper so big that he himself was sent to handle it instead of one of the smaller partners.

About five minutes after take-off the woman spoke up. "Business or pleasure?"

"Pardon me?"

"Your trip. Business or pleasure?"

"Business."

"Ah. Oh I'm Meg by the way." She extended a hand.

"Logan." He took it, shaking it once before returning his appendage to his lap.

"So Logan, what is it that you do?"

"I..er..I'm the CEO of an internet company."

"Impressive. Big business deal coming up in New York?"

"Something like that."

"Well I'm going to visit family."

"That's...nice." He was trying really hard to be cordial here, but she was puzzling him.

"Uh-huh. My finace's family lives in upstate New York and I haven't seen them in much too long."

So she was engaged. And she was still checking him out earlier?

"Oh well that's good." He tried to face forward in his seat and focus on something else, anything else.

"Yep. So Mr. CEO are you nervous about this big deal or what because to be honest you look like someone shoved a stick up your ass."

Logan choked on the breath of air he just took.

"Excuse me?"

"What's your deal? Afraid something is going to go wrong? Or are you just always this uptight?"

"Uh I mean the deal is already closed. And uptight? Excuse me but who are you to tell me I'm uptight?"

"No one. Just a nosy stranger who has a degree in psychology. Three degrees actually. And a book."

"So you're analyzing me?"

Meg shrugged, "can't help it. That's what they gave me the Ph.D for you know?"

"So doc, why don't you tell me why you think I'm so uptight?"

"Well for starters you got onto the plane looking like you want to kill someone. But, anyone with any background in this stuff could see that you also looked really anxious. From the tapping of your fingers on you knee, I'm able to gather that you are in fact anxious. From what you've told me you're going on a business trip to deal with a case that's already been closed so that's not it. There's something else bigger going on here. Another reason you don't want to go back east."

"You got all that from me walking onto this plane?"

"What can I say, I'm an incredibly perceptive person! No just kidding anyone with common sense could have seen that Logan."

"Huh."

"However not everyone is certified to talk to you about it."

Great. She's a shrink who wants to psychoanalyze him on this plane. And he's stuck next to her for the next six hours.

"I think I'm okay, thanks though."

"All right. Well if you change your mind, I have nothing better to do for the next six hours."

He nodded at her before taking out his iPod and turning on his music.

Two hours later he found himself telling her everything. He didn't know what prompted him to do it, maybe the impending dread at being on the East Coast after all this time. It was six years after he left and he still had yet to go back. Honor had pleaded with him for awhile, but eventually gave up. He hadn't even spoken to Colin or Finn. Or his parents to be honest. Or Rory. Sharing his life story with a random shrink he met on an airplane was just about as uncharacteristic as it got, but desperate times?

"And that's it. I got on a plane, changed my numbers and never went back."

"Wow."

"I'm sure you've heard more shocking things."

"True. But no such things have ever been admitted to me from the first class cabin on an airplane before."

He snorted, "yeah this was pretty unusual."

"You could say that."

"So are you going to tell me how fucked up I am? How silly it is for me to dread going back East? How strange it is for a grown man with his own freaking company to still worry about my father and the reactions of people I haven't seen in years?"

"No."

"You're not?"

"You're not 'fucked up' as you so delicately put it. Yeah you have baggage, who doesn't? Daddy issues, old memories, the usual stuff. It just makes you normal Logan. You haven't been home in six years. It's natural to be worried about it."

"God this is unlike anything I've ever done before."

"Same here. I usually meet with clients in an office. And I usually don't speak with them like this either. I assure you I'm more professional, but somehow the whole airplane thing is making this feel more like a chance meeting between friends."

"Definitely doesn't feel like I'm being analyzed by a shrink, no offense."

"None taken."

"So what am I supposed to do doc?" He joked, but found himself sincerely wanting to know the answer.

"Relax. Focus on business. Call your sister if you want to, you sound like you miss her. It makes sense that you feel all this anxiety about being back here, but really I'm sure that it won't be a huge deal. Get the job done and if you feel as if you want to reach out to your friends and family, that's your choice. No one is forcing you into having a sit down with you dad, especially if he really is the way you described. If you want to make connections go ahead, but don't tear all your hair out because of it. It's been awhile, things have probably calmed down on both ends."

"Really?"

"Really."

Four hours later they parted ways with Logan feeling significantly better about his situation. He could do this deal and head back to California no problem. Right?

* * *

The next day Logan pulled up to the building he would be working in for the next month or so, thanking Frank as he exited the town car. He was surprised Frank was still available and more than relieved. Sighing once, he grabbed his briefcase and pushed the door open.

"Hello and welcome to the New York Times. How may I help you?"

"Hello. Logan Huntzberger, I have a meeting with Mr. Osbourne?"

"One second Sir...ah yes here it is. Mr. Osbourne is expecting you. Take the elevator down the hall to floor 28 his office is at the end of the hallway to the right, you can't really miss it."

"Thank you."

"Have a nice day!"

"You too."

Logan made his way to the office and following the receptionist's directions he found the editor in no time.

"Hello sir my name is Logan Huntzberger."

"Ah yes, Mr. Huntzberger. I'm Daniel Osbourne, Editor in Chief of the New York Times, but I'm sure you already knew all of that."

"Yessir."

"I am very excited to begin working with your company in this particular adventure."

"Likewise. I've been reading the Times, well, since I started reading."

"Very well then. I thought I would show you around so you can get a feel for the paper before we get to work. Would that be okay with you?"

"Sounds good!"

Logan toured the building, meeting editors and random staff members and looking into each department. They were stopped on the features section when Mr. Osbourne was pulled aside to receive a phonecall after apologizing for the inconvenience. Logan brushed it off and told the man that he would simply explore on his own for a little while, perhaps find some coffee. Logan was quickly directed to the break room from there.

On his way over he passed by an empty desk with a couple of picture frames and post its, nothing out of the ordinary. What struck him the most was what those plain wooden photo frames contained. Both were of a small child, obviously the same one but at different ages, who looked strangely familiar. He had wild blonde hair and sharp blue eyes and a smile that lit up the entire space. There were no other personal effects in that cubicle, no way of knowing why this boy caught his attention. Shrugging it off, Logan went to get his much-needed caffeine.

* * *

As Logan exited the heavy glass doors later that evening, he quite literally bumped into a familiar face.

"Oof. Sorry about tha...Logan?" Logan looked up to find a very shell-shocked looking Colin McCrea standing there, holding hands with the very same little boy in the photograph from upstairs.

"Colin? Hey man it's been a long time!"

"Uh yeah." Colin kept nervously shifting his eyes from the little boy to his former best friend.

"So I take it things have been good?" Logan gestured to the blonde child now tugging on Colin's sleeve. Wow. Colin was a dad.

"Yeah...Steph and I finally got married."

"I heard. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"So..."

"Er what are you doing here man? It's been awhile."

"Just some business at the Times. I'll be in town for a month or so."

"At the Times? Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Can we go now? I want to play that video game!" The child spoke up suddenly, yanking even harder on the sleeve of Colin's suit.

"Yeah just give me a second okay kiddo? We'll be heading home in a little bit." Turning his attention back to Logan he added, "well I should get going. See you around?"

"Sure. Bye." He waved at the little kid before walking away and getting into the waiting car.

Huh. Strange day.

* * *

Matty didn't say a word until they were in the hallway of his apartment building.

"Uncle Colin?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Was that my dad?"

"Yeah."

"Does mommy know he's here?"

"Nope."

"Did you know he was here?"

"Nope."

"Does he know who I am?"

"You know what your mommy told you Matty, he wasn't ready to be a daddy yet, but he loves you very much."

"That doesn't make sense Uncle Colin."

"You'll get it when you're older buddy. But for right now I know Auntie Steph made cookies and there's a new video game just waiting for us back at home."

"Race you there!"

"MATT no running!" As Matty slowed his sprint to a brisk speed-walk, Colin pulled out his phone.

"Hey Ror when you get this we've gotta talk. Matty's fine, everything's good, just call me when you can okay? I'll see you later. Don't let this interrupt your interview, it's nothing _that_ urgent. Just call me."

* * *

**Just go with the therapist stuff. To be honest I've never seen a therapist myself and I don't know how it works, I just needed an outsider to talk to Logan to get his point of view on things. She will not appear in the story after this, it was just for the sake of the storyline. **

**Also, for timing, it's early March. If Matty was conceived in June, his birthday would be in March most likely. **

**I swear there will be Rory/Logan interaction in the next chapter. As always I love you guys and I'm glad you're liking it! **


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